Baghdad International Airport
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Baghdad International Airport (Template:Comma separated entries) (Template:Langx), previously known as Saddam International Airport (1982—2003), (Template:Comma separated entries) is an international airport serving Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. It is Iraq's largest international airport, located in a suburb about Script error: No such module "convert". west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate. It is the home base for Iraq's national airline, Iraqi Airways.
The construction of the airport began in 1979, under the regime of Saddam Hussein. However, the airport's opening was delayed during the Iran-Iraq War and began operations in 1982. During the Gulf War, it was targeted by multinational forces.
History
Interwar
The Baghdad West Aerodrome was made available for civilian flights of Imperial Airways on April 1, 1929.[1]
It is unclear when the airport actually became the main airport of Baghdad, as it existed long before 1982, with what is now runway 15R/33L as the only runway. Until 1970, Al Muthanna Airport or Muthenna Air Base was the main airport of Baghdad. [2]
Construction and operation
The airport was developed under a consortium led by French company Spie Batignolles under an agreement made in 1979.[3] The Iran–Iraq War delayed full opening of the airport until 1982.[3] It opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.[3]
Most of Baghdad's civilian flights stopped in 1991,[4] when the United Nations imposed restrictions on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. After the Persian Gulf War, a no-fly zone imposed on Iraq by the United States and the United Kingdom meant that Iraqi Airways was only able to continue domestic flights for limited periods.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Occasional international charter flights carrying medicine, aid workers, and government officials were allowed into Baghdad.[5] Royal Jordanian Airlines operated regular flights from Amman to Baghdad.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
On August 17, 2000, the airport was officially opened to civilian flights. Minister of Transport Ahmad Murtada said that:
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And we are expecting the arrival of aircraft. The embargo has prevented Iraqi citizens from using the airport for 10 years. There is no international resolution banning flights to Iraq. It is a US-British-Zionist decision that is neither lawful, humane nor fair.
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2003–2005 (U.S. occupation)
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In 2003, United States-led Coalition forces invaded Iraq. In early April, they moved into Baghdad, took control of the airport, and changed its name to Baghdad International Airport.[6] The ICAO code for the airport consequently changed from ORBS to ORBI. The IATA code also changed from SDA to BGW, which had previously referred to all Baghdad airports, and before that to Al Muthana Airport when Saddam Hussein was in power.
In July 2003, the airport resumed civilian flights for the first time since 1991.[4]
Civilian control of the airport was returned to the Iraqi Government from the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
2005–2011
Sather Air Base – the American base on the west side of the airport – came under periodic rocket fire from Baghdad. On 6 December 2006, a 107mm rocket attack landed Script error: No such module "convert". from a parked C-5A aircraft, puncturing it with scores of shrapnel holes.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Terminal C was refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
2012-Present
Baghdad Airport Road, connecting the airport to the Green Zone, once a dangerous route full of IEDs, was refurbished in 2014 with palm trees, manicured lawns, and a fountain, with Turkish assistance.[7]
On 1 May 2023, the Iraqi government under Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani approved plans to enhance services with the intention of launching an expansion project in the development of Baghdad Airport in the second half of 2023. In 2024, the airport reached the final stage of its expansion plan, according to the International Finance Corporation.
Military use
A separate enclave within the airport houses the New Al Muthana Air Base, where the Iraqi Air Force's 23rd Squadron is based, operating three Lockheed C-130E Hercules transport aircraft. The base is also home to a number of Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft.[8]
Sather Air Base, or Camp Sather, was a United States Air Force base on the west side of the airport from 2003 to 2011. It was named in memory of Combat Controller Staff Sergeant Scott Sather, the first enlisted airman to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sather was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for his leadership of a 24th Special Tactics Squadron reconnaissance task force during the initial stages of the 2003 U.S. invasion.[9]
Airport developments
On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, doubling its capacity to 15 million passengers per year. The expansion, to be funded by foreign investors, was to include construction of three new terminals and refurbishment of the existing three, each of which would accommodate 2.5 million passengers annually.[10]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
| Year | Passengers | Cargo | Aircraft operations | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | %YoY | Tons | %YoY | Movements | %YoY | |
| 2015 | 1,898,589 | N.D. | 11,657.5 | N.D. | 19,952 | N.D. |
| 2016 | 1,787,247 | Decrease 5.9% | 18,903.1 | Increase 62.2% | 16,858 | Decrease 15.5% |
| 2017 | 3,507,910 | Increase 96.3% | 33,254.8 | Increase 75.9% | 31,342 | Increase 85.1% |
| 2018 | 3,909,709 | Increase 11.5% | 11,027.0 | Decrease 66.8% | 37,751 | Increase 20.4% |
| 2019 | 3,778,578 | Decrease 3.5% | 12,057.7 | Increase 9.3% | 37,265 | Decrease 1.3% |
| 2020 | 928,876 | Decrease 75.4% | 6,105.3 | Decrease 49.4% | 11,301 | Decrease 69.7% |
| 2021 | 2,071,150 | Increase 123.0% | 7,346.7 | Increase 20.3% | 23,678 | Increase 109.5% |
| 2022 | 2,915,052 | Increase 40.7% | 8,803.3 | Increase 19.8% | 32,549 | Increase 37.5% |
Source: COSIT. Air Transport Activity Statistics, years 2015,[11] 2016,[12] 2017,[13] 2018,[14] 2019,[15] 2020,[16] 2021[17] and 2022.[18]
Incidents and accidents
- In February 1991, five aircraft, comprising three Iraqi Government executive jets, plus two Iraqi Airways Tupolev Tu-124Vs (YI-AEL and YI-AEY), were destroyed on the ground at Saddam International Airport by US or allied bombs during the Gulf War.[19][20][21][22][23]
- In June 2000, two Saudi former military officers boarded a plane bound for London and diverted it to Baghdad. They wanted to claim asylum in Iraq, but Iraqi authorities later deported them to Saudi Arabia.[24]
- On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300B4 freighter, registered OO-DLL, operating on behalf of DHL Aviation, was hit by an SA-14 'Grail' missile shortly after takeoff. The airplane lost hydraulic pressure, causing a loss of control. After extending the landing gear to create more drag, the crew piloted the plane using differences in engine thrust and landed the plane with minimal further damage. All three crew survived. After the incident, civilian planes took to routinely performing corkscrew landings to minimise the risk of being hit by surface weapons.[25]
- On 26 January 2015, a Flydubai Boeing 737-800 flying from Dubai to Baghdad with 154 passengers on board was hit by small-arms fire on approach to Baghdad International Airport. The plane landed safely.[26] One passenger was injured when at least three bullets struck the plane. After the incident, UAE carriers FlyDubai and Emirates suspended their flights from Dubai to Baghdad. Flights by Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian were also temporarily suspended.[27]
- On 3 January 2020, a U.S. drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, as their convoy left the airport on or near Baghdad Airport Road.[28][29][30]
See also
References
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External links
- Baghdad Airport Arrivals and Departures (non-official website)
- Globalsecurity.org profile
- Christian Science Monitor article on reconstruction, October 2003
- Extensive photographs of Baghdad Airport – 12.07.2004
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